Hat making machine



G. T. BlRDsALL HAT UAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8,'1957 Sept. 12, 1939.

'7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. l2, 1939. G. T. lanlzasALx.'r

HAT UAKIHG M-ACHIFNE Filed Nov. s, 11957 7 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR A 'mrg@ JZ? zrclo'alg B ATTO N 12 193% G. T. BlRDsLl. 2,172,343

, yHAT IAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8. 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTO Sept. 12, 1939. G, 1', BlR-DSALL 2,172,343.

HAT HAKING MACHINE #ned Nov. s, 1937 7 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR l sept. 12', 1939. G, T BmDsALL 2,172,343

HAT IAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8, 1957 K 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 L k fof? maf/r cane-ARM 'ig k ix 5g "2% S A@ M *e Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT or-'FlcE 25 Claims.

The invention relates to the manufacture of felt hats,

It has long been the endeavor of the art to produce a machine which will lighten the burden of manual labor involved in making hats,

increase the rate of production of hats, and decrease the cost of the same While maintaining or even improving the quality of the article.

According to the present invention, these desires have been iullled so far as the iirst step in making hats, that is the making of the bat, is concerned.

Heretofore, in the art of forming bats, the operator placed a forming cone in a hopper and had to wait until the fur was deposited thereon. After suiiicient fur was deposited on the cone, the operator opened the hopper doors and manually moved the cone with the iur thereon from the hopper to a wetting bench. 'At the wetting bench, the cone with the fur thereon was immersed in a tank of water until the bat was thoroughly wetted. The operator `then peeled the bat from the cone and returned the cone to the hopper for the next deposit of the iur. These operations were laborious and involved consid erable time, and the hopper was idle while the bat was being wetted and stripped.

The device ot the present invention provides two bat-formng cones independently mounted and operable with a common fur-depositing hopper. These cones operate automatically,r in such a manner that no time is lost in the preparation of the bats. While the fur is being deposited upon one of the cones, the bat on the other cone is being wetted and stripped therefrom so that the coneis ready to move into the hopper at the time thatthe cone in the hopper is completely deposited with fur. The operations of the machine are completely automatic and do not require the manual labor of an operator for each cone as is the case in the methods in present use. Also, because a plurality of cones are used with a single hopper, a less number of machines is required for producing the same number of hats. However, with the machine of this invention, if one of the cone-carrying units should be disabled, it would not necessitate the stopping of the machine since the other conecarrying unit, being independent, can continue to operate. l

The machne of the present invention includes a means whereby a heavy suction is applied to a cone when it is in fur-depositing position, which suction` remains on the cone during its movement .from the iur-depositing position to the wetting position and remains on the cone until the sprinkler at the wetting position has had an opportunity to dampen down the cone, at which time the suction is reduced so that it does not suck the water through the iur and the cone but permits it to penetrate graduallyso as to compact the bat.

When the bat has been wet, it is automatically stripped from the cone by a novel iiipper mechanism which inverts the cone to cause the bat formed thereon to be stripped therefrom. kThis device engages the cone when it moves into wetting position and is inoperative'until after the wetting operation has been completed, at which time it automatically moves the cone through an arc into inverted position so that the bat strips therefrom.

The doors oi the hopper of the present invention are arranged to operate in unison and are controlled by the position of the cone-carrying arm when the same moves into the hopper. The doors are normally open and are closed when lthe coneis moved into the hopper. This arrangement prevents'jamming of the cone against the doors.' v

Other features and advantages will be appar ent from the specication taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view oi the machine.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the valve mechanism controlling the movement oi the cones.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View oi the device, taken along the lines 3 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cone-carrying cradle.

Fig. 5 is an end view oi' the cone-carrying cradle.

Fig 6 shows a plan view of the hopper with the doors open and the cone-carrying means dia? grammatically shown.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with the cone in the hopper and the doors closed.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the flipping mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the flipping mechanism.

Fig. lll is a detail section oi the supporting means for the cone ring;

Fig. 1i is a iront view of the table-supporting bracket. 4 i

Fig.v 12 is a front view of the pulley showing the means for adjusting the cone-receiving ring.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the cone-carrying arm actuating mechanism. y

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the mechanism ,shown ln Fig. 13.'

Fig. l5 is a detailed 'showing of the control mechanism.

According to the present invention, hat bodies are made on forming cones 2l which are made of perforated metal and have a rounded apex.

While any number of these cones can be'used, the present disclosure will be confined to a device having two cones for each machine. These cones are movable alternately into a common hopper to have fur deposited thereon andare then moved to their respective wetting stations to have the bat of fur wetted and then removed therefrom.

According to the present invention, each of the cones is mounted on a separate support which is adapted to be alternately moved about a pivot f into the fur-depositing position and the wetting and stripping position. Since the structure of the supporting means is the same for each cone, only onewill be described in detail. The support for the cone comprises a base plate 2| having a thimble 22 rotatably mounted therein. A split collar 23 is secured to the thimble by clamping bolts 2l and has a cone-carrying arm-25 bolted to one side thereof by bolts 26. 'I'he collar has an arm 23a formed integrally therewith and posltioned to extend in a direction opposite to the arm 2l. The arm 25 extends'outwardly from the collar and has attached at its other. end a cone-carrying cradle 21 of substantially U-shape.

The cradle is supported by a pair of rollers 2 8 adapted to' run on al track 20 when the cone is moved between the fur-depositing and wetting positions. 'Ihe cradle has a supporting ring II secured to the top thereof. 'Ihe supporting ring has asetofbracketslltowhichissecured an annular table l2 (see Fig. 10) which extends outwardly therearound. A set of L-shaped brackets 3l are secured to the under surface of the ring. A pulley is mounted on a stud ll passing through the depending leg of each of the brackets. These pulleys are equally spaced around the ring and support a cone-carrying ring Il for rotation with respect to table I2. The edge of the cone-carrying ring extends over the edge of the table, as shown in Fig. 10. The upper surface of the cone-carrying ring is provided with a recess 31 having a tapered side $8 which receives the correspondingly shaped base 20a of the cone and securely holds it while at the same time permits it to be readily removed therefrom during the stripping operation.

In making the bat on the cone, the cone is continuously rotated so that the fur is more evenly deposited on it in the fur-depositing position and also so that it will be properly wet in wetting position. In order to rotate the cone,

stud the position of the cone-carrying ring can be adjusted with respect tothe table so that there will be no interference between the two.

According to thepresent invention, the cone-v carrying arm is moved from depositingto wetting position, about the thimble 22 as a pivot, by a pair of cone-moving cylinders I3, u which are connected to a compressed air supply ythrough valve 4I. The cylinders have plunger! l1 and 4.

mounted therein. The plungers are coupledtogether by a coupling bar 49 so that they move together. A guide roller 5l supports the r on one side. The coupling bar has a rack I formed or' the other side which meshes with a gear 52 which has a crank arm 53 formed integrally therewith and having a crank pin 54 ad- Jacent the end thereof. 'I'he elements are so arranged that as the cylinders alternately move the coupling bar back and forth the crank pin will move from side-to-side through 180.

'lhe crank arm is connected by means of connecting rods 55 plvoted on the crank pin 54 and to a pivot pin 56 on the projecting arm 23a secured to the cone-carrying arm so that upon movement of the piston in the cylinder thegear is rotated, moving the crank arm, and, through the connecting rod, movingthe cone-carrying arm about the thimble as a pivot so that the conecarrying arm is moved from one position to the f other.

It will be readily seen in Fig. l, that the arrangement of the connecting rods is-such that when one cone is in fur-depositing position, the other cone will be in wetting position, and when the one cone is shifted to wetting position the' other automatically moves into fur-depositing position. This reduces to a minimum the time consumed in the bat-forming operation.

The control for the valve for alternately operating the vcylinders may take any form, but in the present invention, it consists of a pair of ysolenoids l1, il actuated. from the master control of the machine. 'I'he valve has a pair of ports which interconnect with the ports in the casing which are connected to the ends of the cylinders to alternately energize one. or the other of the cylinders as is shown in Fig. 2. A valve-operating arm 59 is connected to a rod GII adapted to be moved by the pair of solenoids to move the valve to energize either one or the otherv of the cylinders. The solenoid remains energized during the time when the arm is in either position so that it will be held against movementby the air pressure. A pair of springs 6I are connected to the valve-actuating arm in such a manner that upony the removal of the energization from the solenoids, the valve will immediately move into a neutral position and stop the operation of the cone-carrying arms. 'Ihis will prevent opera- 50 tion of the machine, if, for any reason, the current should fail and control should not function.

In order to properly deposit the vfur on the cone, it is required that the cone be subjected to a heavy suction during this operation. According to the present invention, each cone is provided with a sheet metal duct l2 which extends from the ring 30 on the carriage to the thimble and moves with the cone-carrying arm. The thimble is connected to a suction fan (not shown) bymeansofaduct llsecuredtothebaseas shown in Fig. 3. The duct l2 is provided with a damperI Il which is normally moved into open position by a spring 6l connected to the damper arm Ila. With the damper ineits normally openV position, a heavy suction will be applied to the cone during the fur-depositing operation. When the cone-moving cylinders are energized to move the cone into the wetting position, the heavy suction is maintained on the cone during movement operation of the spray,

of the cone if desired. A valve 91 for the spray is actuated by a solenoid Il after the bat is positioned under the nozzle to soak the fur on the Soon after the initial a solenoid 99 mounted on the suction duct is operated to move the damper and decrease the suction on' the cone so that the water will not be caused to be sucked quickly through the i'ur cone with boiling water.

the. fur, on the cone; v

As the cone moves into the wetting position, the groove- 20h in the cone base automatically engages with a hooked nippel arm l-of the mechanism by which the bat is "stripped from the cone after the wettingoperationg {1In moving into -engagement; with thel ilipper armpthe cone depresses a latch T9 whichis""normally pressed outward by a spring 80. The latch holds the cone Ito the flipper arm against, accidental removal but permits it to be moved-relative thereto by the cone-carrying arm. The flipper arm has a slight clearance with the cone so that the latter can he i'reely4 rotated during the wetting operation.

The mechanism for moving the ipper arm, which is shown in detail in lllgs. 8 and 9comprises a base 'l mounted on the iloor and has a post or vertical support therefrom. The post has a rack 'Il secured to one fece thereof and is provided'with projecting guides or ways ld adapted 'to be received in grooves T15 on a carriage 'l5 adapted to slide along the post. The carriage has a. gear l1 rotatably mounted thereon so as to engage with the ilxed roch. The gear has secured thereto the iipper arm (which engages the cone) and a pair oi' counterrveights 78.

After the wetting operationis completed, the stripping of the hat is started.v The'carrage and its flipper arm are -moved upwardly along the guides hy meansA oi compressed'air acting on a piston 538 operating ln a cylinder 92. A valve d3 operated hy a solenoid 84 which is actuated from the master control regulates the 4ilow oi' airY into the cylinder. As the carriage moves upwardly, the gear will rotate as it moves over the rack and move the dinner arm and cone through an are to an inverted position. The weight of the cone will he counterbalanced by the pair of weights llt secured to the carriage opposite the ilipper arm. The cone is` provided with a starter ring .t5 which is positioned around the base of the cone and has a Elrnited movement so that when the cone is flipped into inverted position, the starter ring will slide relative tothe cone and start the bat to peel from the cone. After the bat has been started, it will peel o of its own weight.

els W133i he seen in Fig, 8, the movement given to the cone' during this nipping operation will bring the stripped hat on the plane of the table so that an element can be readily positioned for receiving the bat as it falls from the cone.

When the solenoid 84 is deenergized and the air 'pressure removed from the cylinder 82, the weight of the carriage will return the cone to initial position on the cone-carrying ring.

The mechanism at the fur-depositing station comprises a hopper 99 and the usual mechanism for feeding the fur to the hopper which is indicated at si in Fig. 3, by dotted lines, and com on the cone but will be- ,gradually sucked therethrough so as to compact 12 extending upwardlyshaft iol, The controller vcontacts @llt and 'as shown is divided into 48 units of time.. y unit in actual practice is one second. During one f tacts, the controller has 'doors is connected by suitable linkage to the control rods 99. and 91, which are mountedon the hopper. 'l'hese control rods have secured at their lower ends a pair of meshing gear segments 98 and 99 and movement of either oi.' the gear segments will move all of the door together. These gear segments are normally based by springs |00 to move in the direction to cause the doors on the hopper to open. Each of the gear segments is provided with a roller IUI adaptedto contact a contacting block |02 mounted on the cone-carrying arm.

It will be seen from Figs; 6 land 7, that as the cone moves into the hopper the contacting block |02 will engage the roller NI and cause the doors to be shut during the time the iur is being deposited on vthe cone.A As soon as the cone arm starts to move out of the hopper, the springs will cause the roller to follow the' movement oi' 'the cone arm and open the doors which will reother roller and closes the doors.

With this method of control, the doors are normally open and the closing of them is controlled directly by the cone-carrying arm so that the possibility of the cone moving into engagement with the closed doors is removed.l

The steps in the operation of the machine, Fig. l, whereby the machine automatically mriorms its operations, are controlled from the main controlier which comprises a motor itt geared to drive the controller drum E96 mounted on the drum is provided with s. plurality of contacts adapted to 'engage the E09 for controlling the operations of each of the cones.

The contacts on the drum and their relation to another is best shown in Fig. l5. The drum The complete operation oi the drum, which requires t8 seconds, one cone is furred, wetted, and the hat stripped from the' cone and the cone moved baci: :into fur-depositing position. The .other cone goes through the same operation with a lag of 24 seconds so that a hat is produced every 2A. seconds.

In Fig. 15, considering the right cone arm conenergized the circuit for the cone-moving cylinder to shift the right hand cone from the fur-depositing station to the wetting station and will hold it there for a period of 22 seconds.

As shown, the cone has just reached the wetting station and the contact has been made to turnon the hot water spray. After a period of two seconds, the contact is made to energize the solenoid to close the damper to decrease the suction on the cone. The hot water spray is turned oi after l0 seconds and the solenoid for controlling the flipper valve is energized and remains energized during 9 seconds, during which time the ipper moves out and the hat body peels o the cone. The solenoid isthen deenergized, and the flipper returns the cone to the conecarrying ring. The circuit to the solenoid for the cone-moving cylinder is then broken and the solenoid for the other cone-moving cylinder l in the wetting station.

is energized to move the cone into the fur-'depositing station where it remains for a period of 22 seconds. 'Ihe circuit to the solenoid on the damper is also openedat the time the shifting of the cone into the fur-depositing position takes place so that the heavy suction will be applied duringv the fur-depositing operation.

It will be seen that by displacing the sets of contacts for the two cones by 180, the operations will be repeated in the same sequence for the other cone which has been moved into its wetting position.

Variations and modications may be made within the scope oi' this invention and portions -of the improvements `may be used without others.

`I claim:

l. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; separate supporting means for each ofthe cones; a separate wetting stationfo''each of the cones; and

means for alternately moving one` of the cones from the fur-depositing station to its'- wetting station while the other is moved from its wetting station tothe fur-depositing station.

2. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; separate supporting means for each of the forming cones; a separate wetting station for-each of the forming cones; means for alternately moving the cones into the fur-depositing station and into the wetting station; means ior applying a'flarge-suction on the cone when in fur-'depositing position; and means for reducing the-suction after the initiation of the wetting operation.

3. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; independent supporting means vfor each of the cones; a separate wetting and removing station for each of the cones; means for alternately 'moving one of the cones from the fur-depositing"`station to its wetting and removing station while the other is moved from its wetting station to the fur-depositing station; and means for automatically actuating the wetting means in timed relation to the moving means afterthe cone is positioned 4. In a hat making machine, a plurality of forming cones;l supporting means for each of the cones; a wetting` station for eachA of the cones `having the cone-removing means positioned thereat; means for alternately inoving the cone from the fur-depositing station to its wetting station, the movement of the cone into the wetting station causing the cone to be engaged by a removing means;ymans'fr wetting the bat deposited on the cone; and means for actuating the removing'means after-the wetting operation. 5. In a hat`making' machine, a fur-depositing station; a, plurality of forming cones; supporting means for each of the cones; a wetting station for each o! the cones; means for applying a large suction to the cone in `the depositing station to cause the fur to be drawn thereon;

means for moving the cones fromV the fur-depositingv station to their wetting stations', the

large suction being maintained on the cones during movement to the-wetting station; and means tor reducing the suction after the initial wetting operation in the wetting` station.

6. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality oi forming cones; separate supporting means for each of. the cones; iluidoperated means connected to each of the separate supporting means for moving the supporting means; and valve means operable forcon- Aingrasso station comprising a hopper having doors thereon; a plurality fof forming cones; supporting means for each of the cones; meansl for moving the supporting means whereby the cones are alternately moved into the fur-depositing station, and means for automatically moving the doors of the fur-depositing station in accordance with the movement of the cone-supporting means.

9. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station comprising a hopper having a plurality of normally open doors; means whereby the doors are operated in unison; a plurality of forming cones; independent supporting 'means for each of'the cones; means for moving the'supporting means whereby the 'cones arie alternately moved -into'the fur-depositing station; and means actuated by the movement fof the supporting; means for closing the doors when a cone'is in the furdepositing station.

l0. In a hat making machine, a forming cone; supporting means for the cone; means for moving I the cone into wetting and' removing position, movement of the cone into the wetting position causing the cone to be engaged by the removing means; and means actuated after the wetting operation for moving the cone into inverted position whereby the bat formed on the cone will be stripped therefrom.

l1. In a hat making machine, a forming cone; supporting means for the cone; means for moving the cone into wetting and removing position, movement of the cone into the wetting position causing the cone to be engaged by theremoving means; means actuated after the wetting operation for moving the cone into inverted position lwhereby the bat formed on the cone will be stripped therefrom, said removing means comprising a lvertical support having a xed rack thereon; a carriage slidable on the support; a

`ing the carriage on the frame whereby the gear 4is rotated and the cone is moved to an inverted position. l

l2. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; and sep,- arate supporting means for the cones for supporting the c onesyfo'r movement to and from the fur depositing station, each including a transversely movable cradle; a table secured thereto, and a cone-receiving element rotatably mounted on the table whereby any one of said supporting means can be operated as'a unit independently of` the condition oi the others.

13. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; independent 'supporting means for eachoi the cones pivoted on separate axes; a wetting station for each of the cones; and means for alternately moving the support for one of the cones about its pivot axis tion while the other support is moved about its pivot axis to-movethe cone from its wetting station to the iur-depositing station.

14. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; supporting means for each of the cones; means for moving the supporting means whereby the cones are alternately moved into the iur-depodting station; and independent suction means for each of the cones for controlling a suction as applied to each of the* cones. 15. In a hat malging machine, a fur-depodting station; a plurality of forming cones: separate supporting means for each of the cones; a wetting station for each of the cones; suction-applying means for each of the cones; and means for alter nately moving one of the cones from the furdepositing station to its wetting station while the other is moved from its wetting station to the fur-depositing station, the suction means for each cone being controllable for that cone and having a damper therein for reducing the suction after the initial wetting operation.

16. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; and inde-s pendent supporting means for the cones for supporting the cones for movement to and from the fur depositing station, each including a trans= l, versely movable cradle, a table secured thereto,

a cone receiving element rotatably mounted on the table, and an individual drive for rotating the cone on the table.

17. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones: and independent supporting means for the cones for supporting the cones for movement to and from the fur depositing station, each including a transversely movable cradle, a table secured thereto, a cone-receiving element rotatably mounted on the ,table and adjustable supporting means mounted on the table for receiving the cone-receiving ele-i ment whereby the position of the cone may be adjusted relativev to the table.

18. In a hat making machine, a iur-depositing station including a hopper; a forming cone; means for supporting and moving the cone into and out of the hopper, said hopper including an opening through which the cone can pass, a pair of doors for closing the opening, and means for normally holding the doors in open position; andv 'means actuated by the cone-supporting and moving means for closing the doors when the cone has moved into the hopper.

I9. In a hat making machine, aplurality o! independent forming cones; iur-depositing means; pivot means in spaced relation with said forming cones and iur-depositing means; and

means swingable about the pivot for moving the forming lcones and fur-depositing means'one relative to the other to alternately associate the forming cones'v with the fur-depositing means.

- 20. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a. plurality of forming cones; separate supporting means for each of the forming cones; 'a separate wetting station for each of the form-l ing cones; and means for alternately lmoving each of the separate supporting means to carry the cones into the lfur-depositing station and into the wetting station.

21. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; separate supporting means for each of the cones pivoted for swinging movement about separate axes; and means for swinging the supporting means about the pivots whereby the cones are alternately moved into the fur-depositing station.

22. In a hat making machine, a fur-depositing station; a plurality of forming cones; supporting means tor each of the cones; separate pivot means for each oi the supporting means; Aand poweroperated means for swinging the supporting means about the separate pivot means whereby supporting means for the cone: and means for automatically moving the cone vertically and also through an aro into inverted position whereby the hatten the cone will be stripped therefrom.

25..'n'a hat making machine, a plurality of forming cones, supporting means for each of said cones; means for depositing fur on said cones, means for causing relative movement between the cones and the depositing means for alternately associating the cones with said means: a wetting means' for each cone; suction means. for each cone; stripping means for each cone; and control means including a multiple switch having a group of contacts associated with each cone, said contacts operating in predetermined sequence to regulate the wetting means,{ suction means and stripping means for each cone.

25 the con are alternately moved into the iur- A 

